Page 27 of Reign of Four

I brush my knuckles across the bruises forming on Valentina’s neck. Liam may have killed her if Thanatos hadn’t gotten there in time. Jesus, I need to give the man a raise once all this shit is over.

“Why would he do that for you?”

“Because I asked him to.” She wipes at a tear threatening to fall, then looks at the wet streak across her knuckles with a frown. “God, Andrei, he killed her to prove he loved me. That’s what I asked him to do. Kill her. I didn’t think he’d actually do it, you know? I didn’t think he had it in him.”

I draw a deep breath. “Love makes us do all kinds of things, Valentina. And love for you?” I shake my head, feeling myself smile. Fuck, am I in love with this woman. “It’s the strongest motivator of all. Anyone who falls for you will do anything you ask.” When the Bratva falls in love with her, too, she’ll have the entire organization eating out of the palm of her hand. It’s only a matter of time.

“Anything?”

I nod as I press a kiss to her palm. “Anything, zhena.” Her emerald eyes harden instantly, and I wish I could swallow my words. “Anything except that.”

“I need to kill him, Andrei.”

“Now isn’t the time.”

She rolls her eyes and slides off my lap, stepping away from me to straighten her dress. The skirt ruffles around her thighs, and it’s tempting to pull her back in for another round. “I already hurt him. Just let me finish the job, and this will all be over.”

“I wish it were that simple, zhena. I really do.”

“Make it that simple. You’re the goddamn pakhan! Your word is law.”

“Not in this house.” I push myself to my feet, quickly zip up my pants, and buckle my belt. “Not with these people. They aren’t loyal, Valentina, not to me.”

“All the more reason to kill him.”

“That’ll start a war.”

As she darts for the exit, I jump ahead and barricade the door with my body. She scowls up at me, still fiery as a hellcat. “We’re already at war, so let me end it. Right here, right now. Come with me.”

My heart yearns to give her what she wants, to follow her into the other room and help her hold a gun to the bastard’s temple. He deserves a bullet to the brain, and more importantly, she deserves to be the one to pull the trigger.

But his death won’t solve our problems. It will only make them worse. I tilt Valentina’s chin up to force her eyes on mine. She needs to know why. “Listen to me, Valentina. Right now, Liam is only acting as pakhan because he has you. If we kill him now, we’ll have six more men pop up to take his place. It’ll be another war over who will lead the Bratva. And these other men?” I exhale harshly, not enjoying the thought of other men vying for what’s mine. “They’ll fight to have you, Valentina, because you’ll give them the title and the power that comes with it. But they won’t love you. They’ll use you as a hole to fuck and a body to bleed.”

Her expression hardens. “That doesn’t matter. I’m with you. That gives you the title. That should be enough.”

I brush my thumb across her bottom lip. There’s barely any lipstick left, but what remains is smudged outside the lines. She looks well and properly fucked, and it takes genuine effort to stay focused. I have to stop touching her, or I’ll bend her over a fucking lamp just to get my dick back inside her.

“Until we’re officially married, we’re not legitimized.” I run a hand through my hair and tug at the ends to keep myself focused on the conversation, and not on how fuckable my wife looks. “We’ll have people contesting our reign left and right. We need to marry, and then the war will die out on its own. Whoever owns you owns the Bratva. That’s just how it works.”

She lifts her eyes to mine, and something sparks within their depths. A flash of brilliant green as an idea takes root. Within seconds, it grows into the brightest flame I’ve ever seen as determination takes hold.

“Then you can’t own me, Andrei.”

My entire body tenses, and I have to resist the urge to force her back against the wall and rut her senseless again. “You are mine?—”

She holds up her hand. “I know. I’m yours. I’m not contesting that.” She takes a quick breath. “But if I marry you, I’m still a pawn in these stupid pissing contests, because you’ll be the one officially fucking the Baranova bitch. But it’s my bloodline. It’s my name. I’m the one who owns it. Why can’t I be the one in charge if it’s my name on the fucking Bratva?”

“You don’t have a dick, Valentina.” The Bratva won’t listen to a woman. It’s not tradition. I’m fine sharing the throne with her—I want her to use her power and rule beside me.

But to try to reign on her own?

Dozens of people will kill her before they let a woman be in charge of the Bratva.

“I don’t,” she concedes, “but you do. All three of you do, and I own you. Don’t you get it?” She presses her body against mine and slides her palm up my chest sensually. “The only reason any man will have power is because my bloodline, my name, gives it to them when we marry. But this isn’t your Bratva. It’s mine. I should choose who I marry.”

Fury races through my veins. If she thinks she’s going to marry someone else?—

Valentina smacks her palm over my mouth. “I should choose who I marry, Andrei, and I choose all of you. You, and Ezra, and Mikhail.”

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